Trust--another casualty of the economy.

• Author: Stickel, Amy I.

Trust (noun): A: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something B: one in which confidence is placed.

--Merriam-Webster

Trust may be a highly valued virtue, but it is a slippery one to gauge. That is particularly true when it comes to the trust levels between law firms and their corporate clients.

Of course, relationships between in-house counsel and their law firms have not always been a shining beacon of clear communication and striving towards mutual goals. As one example, in July 2006, "InsideCounsel" magazine reported that 42 percent of in-house counsel surveyed for the 17th Annual Survey of General Counsel agreed that law firms pad their bills. On the law firm side, only 16 percent of firms agreed that they pad their bills.

Nonetheless, many observers think that the trust between law firms and organizations is floundering even more than it has in the past, as the economy has cratered. In an environment where businesses and law firms are wracked by plummeting revenue and wrenching layoffs, there should be common ground between lawyers and clients. But that does not seem to be the case, according to Charles H. Green, founder and CEO of Trusted Advisor Associates. "I don't see much empathy on behalf of clients," he says. "There's always been a town and gown relationship between law firms and in-house counsel, and that attitude is bleeding through."

This type of feeling could be part of a broader trend, as trust with the business environment in general seems to be fraying. According to the 10th Edelman Trust Barometer, which was released earlier this year, nearly two-thirds of those with college educations and high incomes reported that they trust corporations less than they did a year ago. When U.S. respondents were asked about trust in business in general, only 38 percent said they trust business to do what is right, which represents a 20 percent decrease from 2008. According to Edelman, this is a lower level of trust than those in the wakes of Enron, the dot-com bust and 9/11.

In June, "The New York Times" published an article about the difficulties of several well-known corporate law firms in Manhattan (see sidebar: "When the Great Gray Lady Meets White-Shoe Law Firms.") Green says he was startled by the vitriol in some of the online comments that readers posted after the story was published. "What struck me was the level and magnitude of vituperation," he says. "The rate structure is under...